A person who is not content with the few things he or she has in life will lose them as well. The same has happened to Ara Abrahamian for discarding his bronze medal in an act of poor sportsmanship. The BBC, CNN, and the Associated Press reported that the Swedish Wrestler was stripped of his bronze medal by the IOC [International Olympic Committee] for violating rules against demonstrations and for lacking respect to fellow Olympians. After studying other times when the IOC has acted in this way, I looked at the example of Ibragim Samadov of Russia and his behaviour during the 1991 Barcelona Olympics. The IOC stripped Ibragim Samadov of Russia [a weightlifter] of his medal because he refused it, then accepted it in his hand, and finally placed the medal on the floor. The only difference is that Samadov apologized but never received his medal back and Abrahamian never apologized. The International Olympic Committee went further and banned Abrahamian from the Beijing Olympics.

While there are people who defend Abrahamian by using as an excuse that the Olympics and Wrestling Federations are corrupt, this does not justify a violation of fair play and respect for athletes. Whether the call made was justified or not is another point that can be discussed. While I respect those who have said that Abrahamian has been practicing for this moment in time, it does not justify the infantile behaviour of an athlete. It also does not justify the fact that many of Abrahamian’s supporters were also behaving like their idol by insulting the underwriter. It further reinforces my opinion that his behaviour was unbecoming of an athlete. An athlete must not only be an expert in his or her own sport, he or she must learn to accept victory or defeat in grace especially with many people watching a Sporting Event such as the Olympics on TV, the Internet, and listening to it on the radio [including shortwave radio]. Unfortunately, our Western Society which demands perfection and immediate gratification has justified such infantile behaviour as demonstrated by Abrahamian.

The International Olympic Committee acted in a responsible way in removing the Bronze Medal from Ara Abrahamian and expelling him fro the Beijing Olympics of 2008. Whether Ara Abrahamian could reconcile with what he has done and say: “Forgive me, I did not know what I was doing” is another thing. At least Ibragim Samadov was able to feel remorse for what he did but he lost his medal and was banned from his sport [weightlifting] for life. After what I saw and examined, [and taking into account the fact that the majority of Abrahamian’s supporters used the equivalent of acts of repudiation to defend an Anti Olympian], I will give Ara Abrahamian and supporters the Gold Medal they deserve. I give to Ara Abrahamian and his supporters a Gold Medal for being The Anti Olympian.